Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Horrah for the Fifth of May!

Most Americans can't tell you why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We just do. It's a Mexican holiday commemorating their army's victory over the French in 1862. Absolutely nothing to do with America. In fact, according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, the holiday is more widely celebrated in the U.S. than in Mexico! I guess we figure Mexico's right across the border and they have margaritas and yummy food. So why not celebrate, right? Americans love any excuse to consume themed dishes and booze.

I always make some sort of Mexican-themed dish on the fifth of May. This year, I opted for the We Will Rock You Three-Layer Nachos from 30 Minute Vegan:

Technically, I didn't follow the whole recipe, but I used the 30 Minute Vegan instructions as a guide. I did go with the tempeh-bean dip base called for in the recipe — a mixture of refried beans, tempeh, bell pepper, and onion.

The dip went into the bottom of my pie pan, followed by smoky sauteed Swiss chard (NOT in the recipe ... I just had some local chard that needed cookin'). That's topped with my favorite Margaritaville tortilla chips. Atop the chips is melted Teese creamy cheddar sauce (delicious!!), salsa, avocado, tomato, Tofutti sour cream, and a few pickled jalapenos.

The 30 Minute Vegan recipe actually includes instructions for a homemade nooch-based cheese sauce, and I would have made that, but I had creamy Teese. And Teese trumps nooch.

The whole pie plate — before adding the sour cream and avocado of course — went into the oven for about five minutes, so the chips were all crispy and the Teese was all meltly-melty.

Later in the evening, I sipped on a few margaritas. Horrah for Mexican victory!

i love that tempeh-bean dip - it looks awesome! the tofutti, teese, and swiss chard are most delicious, Bianca - yum! and i've gotta admit, i totally love any excuse to consume themed dishes and booze, and dan & i did just that last night. w00t!